In 2007, journalist Tim Shorrock, who wrote the definitive book on the privatization of intelligence, Spies for Hire, obtained and published an unclassified document from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence showing that 70% of the US intelligence budget was spent on private contractors. … Grenier called the system of allocating funds to US agencies the “most illogical process ever devised by the mind of man.”

(10) Desperate nonsense by the war’s advocates: “Give Petraeus 5 Stars“, D. B. Grady (formerly with U.S. Army Special Operations Command), blog of The Atlantic, 7 July 2010 — Excerpts:

“Today, it helps that Petraeus did the impossible” {Where the Sunni Arabs turned on al Qeada in Iraq, the Shiite Arabs did massive ethnic cleansing; Iran turned against the Mahdi Army. Yes, it’s all about us}

“Eighteen months after taking office, President Obama can hardly claim moral authority on military affairs, first tacking left as the anti-war candidate, now following through with the Bush-Petraeus plan to the letter.” {False. Obama consistently opposed the Iraq War and supported the Af-Pak War}

“… the president wasted precious months deciding whether to commit troops requested by the general” {Quite sensible given the strategic incoherence of the previous 8 years}

“Presently, he {Petraeus} is sainted, destined for a glorious profile in military lore, with a biography and set of accomplishments that rival any American general since George Washington.” {Too absurd to warrant comment}

Conservatives are against “socialized health care” (i.e., the public financing of health care services) and they’re also against “rationing” (i.e., limits on the availability of public financing of health care services). Their position is that whoever’s already been granted socialized medicine—i.e., old people—are entitled to have an infinite quantity of funds spent on their health care services. At the same time, they deem it intolerable for the government to provide health care to anyone else, since to provide it in unlimited quantities would be unaffordable.

It says something about American politics that Gen. Stanley McChrystal was not fired because U.S. casualties in Afghanistan are running at record levels, because the much vaunted Marja initiative has failed, or because the Kandahar offensive is already in trouble during its preliminary rollout. No, he was fired because he and his team embarrassed the White House with carelessly frank talk to a journalist.

“This is a change in personnel, but not a change in policy,” said President Barack Obama in announcing General McChrystal’s dismissal. Or, in the words of Rep. James McGovern, we have the “same menu, different waiter.”